In an effort to engage mother and mothers-to-be in our market, we have launched a new Hartford Hospital blog called mommyhood, which taps into the wisdom and knowledge of the hospital’s Women’s Health Services and helps makes readers aware of the hospital’s expertise in this area. Rotating columnists on the blog are: Rebecca Stewart, director of media relations, who previously wrote the widely-read "Mommy Minute" column in The Hartford Courant and produced related TV segments for WTIC-TV, Fox 61; Dr. Christine LaSala, director of Urogynecology; Amy Schroder, RNC, MSN, CCE, manager of the parent education program at Hartford Hospital; and Michaela Donnelly, media relations manager at Hartford Hospital. www.harthosp.org/mommyhood

Chicago Tribune - 7/19/10
Dr. Saul Weiner on his Annals of Internal Medicine study of “contextual errors," or the failure by doctors to consider an individual's social or economic circumstances when diagnosing illness or prescribing treatment.

Au Bon Pain is Coming to Hartford Hospital

After 12 years in the Hartford Hospital Lobby, StreetScape Café will be closing on Friday, July 30. Over the years, StreetScape Café has helped raise thousands of dollars for the Hartford Hospital Auxiliary, and this is a bittersweet time for all involved. We are thrilled to announce that Au Bon Pain will be renovating the space, expanding the menu and opening a new café and restaurant this fall. Like the StreetScape Café, Au Bon Pain will help raise money for the Hartford Hospital Auxiliary and its 75 year old mission to help patients, staff and visitors at Hartford Hospital. During the renovations, Hartford Hospital Food Services will be operating a food and coffee cart so snacks will continue to be available in the hospital lobby.

Four new Cardiac Surgical ICU rooms have just opened on Bliss 9. The upgrade increases our capacity to treat cardiac ICU patients by a third, as there are now rooms for 16 cardiac intensive care patients. Next week, we'll open four more new ICU rooms on Bliss 11. The Bliss 9 and Bliss 11 ICU beds were funded, in part, by the Black & Red Gala 2010. The emergency department triage and discharge areas are still under construction, though the construction walls are no longer up. The areas are being outfitted with equipment and teams will be training in the new areas. The triage and discharge areas are expected to be completed later this summer.

Save the Date: Hartford Hospital Research Symposium

The 2010 Hartford Hospital Research Symposium will be held on October 14, 2010 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm in the Hublein Hall of the Education and Resource Center. This year's theme will be "Genomics and Personalized Medicine: The Future is Now." The event will feature keynote speaker Lawrence J. Lesko, Ph.D., F.C.P., Director of the Office of Clinical Pharmacology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration. It will also feature several guest speakers as well as a wine and cheese reception and a poster session. Attendance will be free, however registration will be required. More information to follow.

The Seymour Street Journal (SSJ) has been developed to communicate key messages pertinent to our hospital’s physicians. It will keep you informed and up-to-date on hospital, network, and health care news in a concise, convenient format. The SSJ will be sent to your preferred e-mail address every other Sunday. Back issues can be viewed here. For any questions or suggestions, please contact Dr. Jeffry Nestler, Medical Staff President, at (860) 836-7313.